Van the man for Motherwell assistant boss Chris Lucketti

Man of the match van Veen netted a double – including a free-kick stunner for the opener – as ’Well beat Livingston 2-1 on Boxing Day to remain fourth in the Scottish Premiership going into the winter break.

"It was a special performance from Kev,” Lucketti said. “As everybody knows Kev is capable of match defining moments and his free-kick was different class.

"I thought he was unlucky in the second half with his second free-kick. Maybe if the wall was actually the 10 yards away it should have been it might have nestled in the top corner.

"And he took his second goal great which is what Kev does. You put the balls into those areas for Kev and he’s capable of scoring and winning you games.

"It’s massively important to have a maverick like that in the ranks. Everybody loves Kev, everybody knows what he’s capable of.

"We see it in training and now we’re starting to see it more often than not on the pitch which is great.”

Lucketti was pleased with ’Well’s overall display, in front of just 500 fans due to coronavirus restrictions.

“I thought it was a fantastic performance,” Lucketti said. “A great three points against a rival that’s been in good form.

"It keeps our running going, certainly at home where we’re picking up points for fun.

"Hard work and dedication is behind it. Certainly a lot of work we’re doing on the training field and certainly it’ down to the players and how hard they’ve worked, day in and day out.

"Having just 500 fans does impact. We love our home support and the 500 that were here were in great voice but we’re just disappointed that there wasn’t more and able to have more fans in. A better atmosphere translates onto the pitch.

"I really hope after the break we see all the fans back. Today was a real big day for the fans, the Boxing Day game where you bring all your family, your friends.”

Lucketti, speaking to MFC TV, said that ’Well players would be getting a week off to recharge their batteries before two weeks of hard training ahead of the league resumption at Ross County on Tuesday, January 18.